I was extremely disappointed in this book. I was really looking forward to this read as there has been so much hype surrounding it. I've heard it referred to as the next "Gone Girl " comparing Fiona Barton to Gillian Flynn to which I was skeptical , those are big shoes to fill and GG was one of my favorites and a very tough act to follow. Unfortunately "the widow" paled in comparison. The book was completely predictable, the were no plot twists or unexpected surprises, no edge-of-my-seat page turning suspense, I wasn't unable to put this down because the anticipation was killing me and I had to read what happened next...no, the widow was nothing like Gone Girl and worse, it wasn't even a good book in its own right, in my humble opinion. The plot was extremely week and transparent, as were the characters, not to mention they were extremely unlikable and not relatable in the least. I honestly can't understand what any of the hype is about, why this book is getting so much attention, and what it is that readers are drawn to and enjoying about this book because I couldn't find anything that left a positive impression. I gave this book 3 stars and that may be more than it deserves but to be fair I did set my expectations incredibly high prior to reading this book because of the positive reviews I had read about it. Had I read it with a more open mind and no preconceived notions I might have enjoyed it a little bit more, or at least been less disappointed, so I think 3 stars is a fair review although if 2.5 was an option I'd probably go with that instead. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but obviously there are others out there who enjoyed it so to each their own but don't pick this book up expecting anything like a Gillian Flynn novel or you will only be sadly disappointed